Mapping Gay/Lesbian Travel Guides¶
Jenny Li
Final Project for Data; May 2025
Disclaimer: AI was used for this project
Introduction¶
In the pre-internet era, LGBTQ+ individuals often relied on underground networks and printed resources to safely navigate social life, travel, and public spaces. One of the most important of these resources was Gaia’s Guide, a printed travel guide that cataloged bars, bookstores, community centers, and other establishments that were considered safe or affirming for gay and lesbian travelers. In an era when being openly queer could lead to harassment, arrest, or worse, such guides played a vital role in both survival and community building.
Gaia’s Guide was created by Sandy Horn, an American lesbian activist. She published the first edition in 1974, initially titled The Girl’s Guide to International Living, which was later renamed Gaia’s Guide in 1975. Horn independently produced and distributed the guide for approximately 18 years, continuing until shortly before her death in 1993.
This project explores a digitized and geocoded dataset of listings originally featured in Gaia’s Guide. The goal is to uncover spatial and cultural patterns in how LGBTQ+ spaces were distributed and categorized in the United States across different time periods. Specifically, we focus on identifying where bars and restaurants—often the social hubs of queer life—were located, and how these locations varied across states.
Questions explored include:
-Which states had the most gay and lesbian bars listed?
-What were the most common types of LGBTQ+ establishments?
-How were these spaces geographically distributed across the U.S.?
This data-driven mapping project aims to illustrate patterns of visibility, concentration, and types of queer spaces during a period when LGBTQ+ people were often marginalized in public life.
import pandas as pd
official_df = pd.read_csv('guide-geocoded.csv')
official_df
| title | description | type | address | city | state | country | publication | year | notes | geocode.value | lon | lat | geoAddress | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 0 | Gay Liberation | NaN | Organizations | P.O Box 1614;35201 | Birmingham | AL | United States | Gaia's Guide | 1975 | NaN | Birmingham, AL, United States | -86.810357 | 33.518589 | birmingham, al, usa |
| 1 | The Outer Focus | Tel. 254-9488 | Bars | 117 21st North | Birmingham | AL | United States | Gaia's Guide | 1975 | NaN | Birmingham, AL, United States | -86.810357 | 33.518589 | birmingham, al, usa |
| 2 | "Gismo's" | NaN | Bars | 209 South 22nd St. | Birmingham | AL | United States | Gaia's Guide | 1975 | NaN | Birmingham, AL, United States | -86.810357 | 33.518589 | birmingham, al, usa |
| 3 | The Matador | NaN | Bars | 208 North 22nd St. | Birmingham | AL | United States | Gaia's Guide | 1975 | NaN | Birmingham, AL, United States | -86.810357 | 33.518589 | birmingham, al, usa |
| 4 | The Red Room | Tel. 251-0171 | Bars | 2101 5th North | Birmingham | AL | United States | Gaia's Guide | 1975 | NaN | Birmingham, AL, United States | -86.810357 | 33.518589 | birmingham, al, usa |
| ... | ... | ... | ... | ... | ... | ... | ... | ... | ... | ... | ... | ... | ... | ... |
| 51608 | Erotic News | (Books) | Book Store,Erotic Shop | 1688 Locust St. | Walnut Creek | CA | United States | Bob Damron's Address Book | 1989 | NaN | Walnut Creek, CA, United States | -122.065182 | 37.910078 | walnut creek, ca, usa |
| 51609 | Hub | (Disco) (Some L) | Bars/Clubs | 1220 Pine St. | Walnut Creek | CA | United States | Bob Damron's Address Book | 1989 | NaN | Walnut Creek, CA, United States | -122.065182 | 37.910078 | walnut creek, ca, usa |
| 51610 | 'Rest Stop' | on Hwy 1 Vista Pt. nr. Mae Monte Dr. exit | Cruising Areas | NaN | Watsonville | CA | United States | Bob Damron's Address Book | 1989 | NaN | Watsonville, CA, United States | -121.756895 | 36.910231 | watsonville, ca, usa |
| 51611 | Scene One | (Disco) | Restaurant | 340 N. Azusa | West Covina | CA | United States | Bob Damron's Address Book | 1989 | NaN | West Covina, CA, United States | -117.938953 | 34.068621 | west covina, ca, usa |
| 51612 | Travel Adviosrs | NaN | Travel Agency | 20050 Ventura Blvd. | Woodland Hills | CA | United States | Bob Damron's Address Book | 1989 | NaN | Woodland Hills, CA, United States | -118.605827 | 34.168503 | woodland hills, los angeles, ca, usa |
51613 rows × 14 columns
print(official_df.sample(5))
title description \
14699 Boatslip NaN
13603 Club Mitchell NaN
1152 Anne's Tic Toc NaN
29145 U. of Texas (also Beaumont Hall Student Steam Room & Grego...
47156 Plaza (Latins)(Disco)
type address \
14699 Hotel,Bars/Clubs,Restaurant,Cruising Areas Broad St.
13603 Bars/Clubs 1003 E. Pratt
1152 Bar 408 Broadway
29145 Cruising Areas NaN
47156 Bars/Clubs 739 N. La Brea
city state country publication year \
14699 Provincetown MA United States Bob Damron's Address Book 1975
13603 Baltimore MD United States Bob Damron's Address Book 1975
1152 Macon GA United States Gaia's Guide 1977
29145 Austin TX United States Bob Damron's Address Book 1985
47156 Los Angeles CA United States Bob Damron's Address Book 1981
notes geocode.value \
14699 New address for this entry Provincetown, MA, United States
13603 NaN Baltimore, MD, United States
1152 NaN Macon, GA, United States
29145 NaN Austin, TX, United States
47156 NaN Los Angeles, CA, United States
lon lat geoAddress
14699 -70.184601 42.054714 provincetown, ma, usa
13603 -76.612189 39.290385 baltimore, md, usa
1152 -83.632402 32.840695 macon, ga, usa
29145 -97.743061 30.267153 austin, tx, usa
47156 -118.242643 34.054908 los angeles, ca, usa
Methodology¶
The dataset used in this project is derived from Gaia's Guide, a series of travel guides published primarily in the 1970s through the early 2000s. These guides served as directories for LGBTQ+ travelers, listing bars, restaurants, bookstores, community centers, and organizations that were known to be welcoming to gay and lesbian individuals. The data itself likely originated through a combination of grassroots community submissions, word-of-mouth recommendations, personal travel experiences, and occasional business outreach.
These guides were often compiled by small activist publishers or LGBTQ+ organizations who received tips and recommendations from local residents or travelers. Locations included in Gaia’s Guide were chosen based on their perceived friendliness or safety for LGBTQ+ patrons in a time when discrimination, harassment, and exclusion were common.
For this project, a CSV file named guide-geocoded.csv was provided, which includes the digitized and geocoded version of this historical data. It contains variables such as the name and type of establishment, address, city, state, year of listing, and geolocation coordinates (latitude and longitude). The geocoding process was likely performed using tools such as the Google Maps API or geopy, which translated the textual addresses into geographic coordinates.
Once imported into Python using pandas, the dataset was cleaned and filtered to isolate only the entries from Gaia's Guide. From there, we conducted geographic and categorical analyses to explore trends—specifically focusing on bars and restaurants as culturally significant spaces for LGBTQ+ community formation.
gaia_df = official_df[official_df['publication'] == "Gaia's Guide"]
gaia_df
| title | description | type | address | city | state | country | publication | year | notes | geocode.value | lon | lat | geoAddress | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 0 | Gay Liberation | NaN | Organizations | P.O Box 1614;35201 | Birmingham | AL | United States | Gaia's Guide | 1975 | NaN | Birmingham, AL, United States | -86.810357 | 33.518589 | birmingham, al, usa |
| 1 | The Outer Focus | Tel. 254-9488 | Bars | 117 21st North | Birmingham | AL | United States | Gaia's Guide | 1975 | NaN | Birmingham, AL, United States | -86.810357 | 33.518589 | birmingham, al, usa |
| 2 | "Gismo's" | NaN | Bars | 209 South 22nd St. | Birmingham | AL | United States | Gaia's Guide | 1975 | NaN | Birmingham, AL, United States | -86.810357 | 33.518589 | birmingham, al, usa |
| 3 | The Matador | NaN | Bars | 208 North 22nd St. | Birmingham | AL | United States | Gaia's Guide | 1975 | NaN | Birmingham, AL, United States | -86.810357 | 33.518589 | birmingham, al, usa |
| 4 | The Red Room | Tel. 251-0171 | Bars | 2101 5th North | Birmingham | AL | United States | Gaia's Guide | 1975 | NaN | Birmingham, AL, United States | -86.810357 | 33.518589 | birmingham, al, usa |
| ... | ... | ... | ... | ... | ... | ... | ... | ... | ... | ... | ... | ... | ... | ... |
| 13461 | Double Decker | (downstairs); -Tel. 292-9381 | Bars | 181 Walnut Street | Morgantown | WV | United States | Gaia's Guide | 1989 | NaN | Morgantown, WV, United States | -79.955897 | 39.629526 | morgantown, wv, usa |
| 13462 | Grand Palace | -Tel. 342-9532 | Bar / Restaurants | 617 Brooks St | Charleston | WV | United States | Gaia's Guide | 1989 | NaN | Charleston, WV, United States | -81.632623 | 38.349820 | charleston, wv, usa |
| 13463 | Christian Support Group | PO Box 27; 26003 -Tel. 233-4121 | Religious Groups | PO Box 27 | Wheeling | WV | United States | Gaia's Guide | 1989 | NaN | Wheeling, WV, United States | -80.720915 | 40.063962 | wheeling, wv 26003, usa |
| 13464 | Metropolitan Community Church / Morgantown | -Tel. 292-3128. Mail to:\nPO Box 576; 26507 | Religious Groups | PO Box 576 | Morgantown | WV | United States | Gaia's Guide | 1989 | NaN | Morgantown, WV, United States | -79.955897 | 39.629526 | morgantown, wv, usa |
| 13465 | Grand Books | -write: Box 7424; 83001 -Tel. 733-1687. 'We ha... | Bookstores | 970 West Broadway | Jackson | WY | United States | Gaia's Guide | 1989 | NaN | Jackson, WY, United States | -110.762428 | 43.479929 | jackson, wy, usa |
13466 rows × 14 columns
To begin the analysis, I filtered the dataset to include only entries published in Gaia's Guide. This step ensures that the data reflects the specific scope of the project: mapping spaces that catered to lesbian travelers, as Gaia's Guide was one of the earliest and most influential travel guides created for lesbian audiences. While some venues included may also have served gay men or the broader LGBTQ+ community, the focus of this guide justifies narrowing the analysis in this way.
Types of Locations¶
type_counts = gaia_df['type'].value_counts().sort_values(ascending=False)
print("\nNumber of each venue type:")
print(type_counts)
Number of each venue type:
type
Bars 4784
Bar 716
Restaurants 622
Religious Groups 500
Publications 382
...
Gay/Lesbian Political Group 1
Bars[3X] 1
Organization/Center 1
Resort/Dsico 1
Services Center 1
Name: count, Length: 734, dtype: int64
import pandas as pd
import matplotlib.pyplot as plt
# Load the CSV
official_df = pd.read_csv('guide-geocoded.csv')
# Filter for Gaia's Guide
gaia_df = official_df[official_df['publication'] == "Gaia's Guide"]
# Count the number of each type
type_counts = gaia_df['type'].value_counts()
# Create a pie chart
plt.figure(figsize=(10, 10))
plt.pie(type_counts, labels=type_counts.index, autopct='%1.1f%%', startangle=140)
plt.title("Distribution of Venue Types in Gaia's Guide")
plt.axis('equal')
plt.show()
This pie chart visualizes the distribution of different types of venues listed in Gaia’s Guide, a lesbian travel directory. Each slice represents a specific category—such as bars, bookstores, community centers, or restaurants and the size of the slice corresponds to the number of times that venue type appears in the dataset.
As shown, bars account for a significant portion of the total listings, highlighting their importance as social hubs within lesbian communities during the time period of publication. Other frequent venue types include bookstores, support organizations, and religious groups, reflecting a broader ecosystem of cultural, spiritual, and informational support.
Numbers of Locations by State¶
bars_df = gaia_df[gaia_df['type'].str.contains("Bar", case=False, na=False)]
bars_by_state = bars_df['state'].value_counts().sort_index()
print("Number of bars in each state:")
print(bars_by_state)
Number of bars in each state: state AK 28 AL 84 AR 39 AZ 77 CA 795 CO 83 CT 86 DC 33 DE 23 FL 474 GA 106 HI 44 IA 51 ID 21 IL 251 IN 123 KS 67 KT 5 KY 50 LA 128 MA 244 MD 77 ME 46 MI 191 MN 46 MO 153 MS 24 MT 18 NC 99 ND 5 NE 49 NH 26 NJ 186 NM 34 NV 48 NY 539 OH 298 OK 75 OR 96 PA 284 PR 32 RI 56 SC 53 SD 9 TN 113 TX 313 UT 23 VA 59 VI 1 VT 12 Virgin Islands 1 WA 121 WI 128 WV 49 WY 16 Washington, D.C. 6 Name: count, dtype: int64
import matplotlib.pyplot as plt
bars_df = gaia_df[gaia_df['type'].isin(['Bars', 'Bar / Restaurants'])]
state_counts = bars_df['state'].value_counts().sort_values(ascending=False)
plt.figure(figsize=(10, 6))
state_counts.plot(kind='bar', color='skyblue')
plt.title("Number of Bars/Restaurants in Each State (Gaia's Guide)")
plt.xlabel("State")
plt.ylabel("Number of Locations")
plt.xticks(rotation=45)
plt.tight_layout()
plt.show()
This bar chart shows the number of bars and bar/restaurants listed in Gaia’s Guide across different U.S. states. The states are displayed in descending order of location count, giving a clear view of regional concentration.
Unsurprisingly, California stands out with the highest number of venues, followed by New York, Florida, Texas, and Ohio. States with large urban populations and historically significant LGBTQ+ communities. This pattern suggests a correlation between population density, urbanization, and the visibility or accessibility of lesbian spaces during the time of the guide’s publication.
Interacting Maps¶
!pip install folium
Requirement already satisfied: folium in /opt/anaconda3/lib/python3.12/site-packages (0.19.5) Requirement already satisfied: branca>=0.6.0 in /opt/anaconda3/lib/python3.12/site-packages (from folium) (0.8.1) Requirement already satisfied: jinja2>=2.9 in /opt/anaconda3/lib/python3.12/site-packages (from folium) (3.1.4) Requirement already satisfied: numpy in /opt/anaconda3/lib/python3.12/site-packages (from folium) (1.26.4) Requirement already satisfied: requests in /opt/anaconda3/lib/python3.12/site-packages (from folium) (2.32.3) Requirement already satisfied: xyzservices in /opt/anaconda3/lib/python3.12/site-packages (from folium) (2022.9.0) Requirement already satisfied: MarkupSafe>=2.0 in /opt/anaconda3/lib/python3.12/site-packages (from jinja2>=2.9->folium) (2.1.3) Requirement already satisfied: charset-normalizer<4,>=2 in /opt/anaconda3/lib/python3.12/site-packages (from requests->folium) (3.3.2) Requirement already satisfied: idna<4,>=2.5 in /opt/anaconda3/lib/python3.12/site-packages (from requests->folium) (3.7) Requirement already satisfied: urllib3<3,>=1.21.1 in /opt/anaconda3/lib/python3.12/site-packages (from requests->folium) (2.2.3) Requirement already satisfied: certifi>=2017.4.17 in /opt/anaconda3/lib/python3.12/site-packages (from requests->folium) (2024.12.14)
import folium
bars_df = gaia_df[gaia_df['type'].str.contains("Bar", case=False, na=False)]
map_center = [bars_df['lat'].mean(), bars_df['lon'].mean()]
m= folium.Map(location=map_center, zoom_start=5)
for _, row in bars_df.iterrows():
popup = f"<b>{row['title']}</b><br>{row['address']}<br>{row['city']}, {row['state']}"
folium.Marker(
location=[row['lat'], row['lon']],
popup=popup,
icon=folium.Icon(color='blue', icon='glass', prefix='fa')
).add_to(m)
m
This interactive map uses Folium to visualize the geographical spread of bar and bar/restaurant venues listed in Gaia’s Guide. Each blue marker on the map represents a specific location, with pop-up information displaying the name, address, city, and state of the venue.
import folium
from folium.plugins import HeatMap
bars_df = gaia_df[gaia_df['type'].str.contains("Bar", case=False, na=False)]
heat_data = bars_df[['lat', 'lon']].dropna().values.tolist()
map_center = [bars_df['lat'].mean(), bars_df['lon'].mean()]
heat_map = folium.Map(location=map_center, zoom_start=5)
HeatMap(heat_data, radius=10).add_to(heat_map)
heat_map
Unlike the discrete marker map, the heat map emphasizes clustering patterns and urban density. We can clearly see strong concentrations in coastal urban centers like New York City, Los Angeles, and San Francisco, as well as secondary clusters in cities like Chicago, Atlanta, and Miami. These hotspots correspond with historically significant centers of LGBTQ+ community life and activism.
Conlusion¶
The data shows that bars and restaurants were the most frequently listed types of establishments in Gaia's Guide, reflecting the importance of nightlife and safe public gathering spaces in the LGBTQ+ community. Certain states such as California, New York, and Florida had the highest concentration of listings. These patterns reflect urban migration and visibility during the late 20th century queer movement.
The use of mapping and heatmaps helps to visualize safe queer geography and contributes to the archival documentation of queer culture in the U.S. By using data science tools, we make this history more accessible and analyzable.
One of the most striking insights from this analysis is the central role that bars and restaurants played in lesbian social life. They were not merely recreational venues, but vital hubs for community formation, political organizing, safety, and identity affirmation. The overwhelming dominance of bars in the venue type distribution underlines how nightlife was one of the few accessible and accepted public forums for lesbians during the late 20th century. At the same time, the relative scarcity of other types of spaces—such as health centers, bookstores, or community organizations—points to the limited range of formal infrastructure available to support lesbian life, particularly outside of major urban centers.
Bibliography¶
- "Mapping Gay Guides Project." UNC Digital Innovation Lab. https://mappingthegayguides.org